


Heroes Take to the Skies

by Peppermint_Miraculous (Peppermint_Shamrock)



Series: Peppermint's Ladynoir July One-Shots [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Ladynoir July
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 17:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15124328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peppermint_Shamrock/pseuds/Peppermint_Miraculous
Summary: Marinette could safely say this was not at all how she imagined meeting her soulmate.Written for Ladynoir July Day 1 prompt - First Impressions





	Heroes Take to the Skies

A romantic at heart, Marinette often fantasized about meeting her soulmate, like many teenagers did. She didn’t obsess over it – she was young yet, and most met their soulmates in adulthood – but she of course had her daydreams. She knew plenty of stories what that moment of first contact was like, from her parents and others, but Marinette was a girl who needed to experience things for herself, and she wondered what it would be like for her. Though the initial contact with one’s soulmate left no physical evidence, it was said to cause a powerful, unmistakable sensation in both partners. They would “just know”, according to everyone who described it. The feeling would only occur at that first moment, but it was “something that sticks with you”.

Even so, meeting her soulmate was hardly the first thing on her mind on the first day of school. It was her third year of middle school, and she was more concerned with avoiding Chloé, getting to class on time, and not tripping too much. The thought of soulmates was pushed back even further into her mind when she was suddenly roped into being a superhero after one of her classmates turned into a rock monster.

So, naturally, that was the very time fate chose for her to meet her soulmate.

Marinette had often joked, somewhat self-deprecatingly, about how she’d probably meet her soulmate by tripping and falling onto them in a spectacular fashion. But _this_ surpassed even her most nonsensical imaginings. She had only tried to test her apparently magical yo-yo, and found herself yanked through the air across the city. She then fell in an incredibly undignified manner, landing straight onto a boy, her yo-yo tangling around the pair of them as it caught on a beam that that boy had been balancing on before she had unceremoniously knocked him from it.

She barely registered that, though, as she felt _it_. Instinctively, she _knew_ this was a soulmate connection. There could be no other reason for this intense, indescribable feeling that rushed through her – it was like nothing she had ever experienced. And from the way the boy’s strange eyes (were those cat eyes?) widened, she knew he was experiencing the same thing. The two of them could only stare at each other for a few moments as they swayed like a pendulum, trapped up against each other. Finally, Marinette’s soulmate broke the silence.

“Well! Not many who can say that their soulmate literally fell from heaven!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall on you!” Marinette hastily apologized as they began disentangling themselves. The last thing she needed was for her _soulmate_ to get mad at her. She needn’t have worried, though, as her soulmate was grinning brightly.

“I was told I was getting a partner, but my Kwami didn’t say anything about getting a soulmate, too,” he said, practically bouncing with delight. “I’m...Chat Noir. And you?”

“Uhh…” Marinette said. With all this craziness, she hadn’t even given any thought to needing a superhero name. She obviously needed something, as she could hardly use her real name in this situation, but her mind was blanking. She was still freaking out about the whole superhero thing in the first place, and now she had to expend mental energy on coming up with a new name? Not happening.

Her soulmate waited patiently for her to come up with something. She was saved from further embarrassment when buildings started falling behind him, the destruction causing the ground to shake underneath them.

“I guess it can wait,” he said, turning and leaping, effortlessly, to the top of a nearby building. “Let’s go, soulmate! Paris needs us!” And with that he disappeared, heading off towards the destruction.

Yeah, Marinette could safely say this was not at all how she imagined meeting her soulmate.

He seemed nice enough, though, if a bit reckless, as she found out while they took on Stoneheart together. He was also much too eager about this whole crazy business. But she couldn’t complain, she thought as he cheerfully parted ways with her. They’d worked pretty well together. And he was patient with her clumsiness and weird strategies.

She’d always expected that meeting her soulmate would result in love at first sight. That was how a lot of people, including her parents, described it to her. Or at least, that’s what she had taken away from their descriptions. But it was also true that many said that a relationship took work – the soulmate connection wasn’t enough, and that love took time to develop, sometimes. That must be the case here, Marinette thought. She hadn’t fallen in love at first sight, but she had instantly clicked with Chat Noir in a way she never had with anyone else. She supposed she would grow into the feelings that were supposed to develop between soulmates.

With that thought, Marinette approached Ivan, now released from the akuma’s power. She examined the note that had held the bug, and read it aloud. It called Ivan a coward for not telling Mylène his feelings for her, and Marinette made a noise of sympathy as she knelt down to comfort Ivan.

“Kim wrote that, he’s always writing stuff like that,” Ivan said. “But Mylène isn’t my soulmate, so I…” he trailed off, looking ashamed.

“There’s no shame in liking someone when you haven’t met your soulmate yet, Ivan” Marinette said warmly. Not everyone agreed with the sentiment, some believed one needed to save themself for their soulmate and their soulmate only. But as far as Marinette was concerned, if someone hadn’t met their soulmate yet, why deny themselves happiness in the moment for someone that they might not meet for another ten, twenty, or thirty-plus years? Of course, sometimes it led to complications, but falling in love outside the soul system was understandable as long as one hadn’t already met their soulmate. Besides…Ivan and Mylène would make an _adorable_ couple.

“How did you know my name, miss? Or that I haven’t met my soulmate yet?” Ivan asked, looking up at Marinette.

Oops.

Alya then came over to badger her with questions, so Marinette took that, and the beeping of her earrings, as the cue to make her escape. But not before introducing herself as Ladybug.

Marinette arrived home just in time, landing on her balcony just as her transformation wore out, and Tikki reappeared at her side. Marinette beamed at her.

“I did it, Tikki! I did it! And I met my soulmate, too! This has been the absolute craziest day of my life!” She let out something akin to a laugh, but was really just a noise from the exhilaration of the whole experience. She was glad it was over, but it was really something, wasn’t it?

“That’s wonderful, Marinette! I knew you could do it. And it’s good that your partner is your soulmate, that will help you two work together!” Tikki said, returning Marinette’s smile with her own encouraging one. “I didn’t mention this before, but after you use Lucky Charm, I will need to recharge before I can transform you again.”

“Oh?” Marinette asked. “How do you recharge?”

“Food, just like humans! I prefer sweets, especially cookies.”

Well, that certainly wouldn’t be hard for Marinette to obtain.

“I’m starting to suspect you had an ulterior motive in choosing me to be a superhero,” Marinette said a short time later, half-joking, as she brought up some chocolate-chip cookies into her room.

“Don’t be silly, Marinette! You were chosen for your cleverness and will to help others in whatever way you can, not for cookies – though of course those are a nice benefit,” Tikki said, winking. “And your partner being your soulmate just proves that you were meant for this, right?”

“I guess so,” Marinette agreed. “Hey, aren’t soulmate connections triggered by skin-to-skin contact? Does that mean that the weird suit thing I was wearing was actually my skin??”

Tikki giggled.

“In a way, it is!” she confirmed. “But don’t worry, the transformation is very protective – it’s not nearly as vulnerable as skin.”

“That’s so _weird_ ,” Marinette said. She’d get used to it, probably. But it was _weird_. She didn’t want to dwell on that, though, so turned her thoughts to what prompted that question in the first place.

She’d met her soulmate! Now that everything had died down, it was really starting to hit home. She’d met her soulmate…and she could never introduce him to anyone she knew. Couldn’t even tell anyone that she had a soulmate now. _Damn_. It would’ve been nice to throw something back at Miss “I’ve known _my_ soulmate since we were toddlers” Bourgeois.

No. Marinette had to be positive about this. Having a soulmate, even a secret soulmate, was a great thing. A wonderful thing. Some people didn’t meet their soulmates until half their lives had passed. To meet your soulmate at such a young age was a rare blessing, and Marinette knew she should be thankful for it. She _was_ thankful for it. Maybe someday, when whatever threat had called out Chat Noir and Ladybug in the first place had been dealt with, the two of them could live and develop as normal soulmates do. But for now, teammates and partners would be enough. Marinette allowed cheerfulness to overtake her again.

But her good mood could not last. Though Tikki protested, Marinette could not in good conscience continue acting as a hero when she had failed so utterly. She removed the earrings, putting them back into their box. Marinette knew it, she had known it the whole time and had only fooled herself into thinking otherwise. She wasn’t cut out to be a superhero.

But Tikki’s earlier words wouldn’t leave Marinette alone.

_Your partner being your soulmate just proves that you were meant for this, right?_

Did it?

What would Chat Noir think when instead of his soulmate, he got some other girl as his partner? Would he think she was rejecting him as a soulmate? Maybe she should find a way to tell him what she was doing, that she was just quitting as his partner because of her failure, not quitting as his soulmate? But without being Ladybug, he had no way of finding her again. A soulmate connection was a one and done deal…they could brush hands every day for the rest of their lives and never know that they were soulmates. If she gave up the earrings permanently, she’d be forever dooming both herself and him to the fate of an Unmatched – someone without a soulmate – but without the option of dating outside the soul system, as that would make them Unfaithfuls. While dating outside the soul system was fine for the Unmatched and Prematched, and maybe even the Mismatched and Postmatched (those whose soulmate had passed away), it was beyond shameful for the Matched, for someone who had _met_ and _knew_ their soulmate to do so.

Did she have the right to do that to Chat Noir? Without a word of warning? But at the same time, did she have the right to put those earrings back on after letting down the city so terribly?

Marinette stewed in this dilemma for the rest of the day, and part of the next. She hid her guilt, but it was there, no matter which option she considered. It was there as she listened to Alya gush about superheroes, it was there as she encouraged Ivan to confess to Mylène, it was there as she chewed out Chloé’s lackey – and apparently soulmate? Marinette would’ve felt sorry for him if he hadn’t been putting gum on her seat and she wasn’t already in a miserable mood.

Eventually, her decision was made for her. People were in danger again, and she couldn’t stand by and watch. She might have failed, but she owed it to everyone to make things right. Then…then she could talk to Chat Noir about things.

Marinette lost her nerve again when the police started criticizing her – them – for her failure. She shrank back, admitting quietly that they were right.

Chat Noir reassured her that they weren’t. He comforted her, and chased away those thoughts of failure. From his words, from his comfort, Marinette took the strength to go on. Just in time, too, as their enemy chose that moment to announce himself, and demand their surrender.

Well. _That_ wasn’t going to happen. Marinette didn’t know what she would’ve done before Chat Noir had spoken to her, but she didn’t need to. She only needed to know what she would do now, and that was to step up and fulfil her duty as a hero. No thoughts of failure could hold her back now.

As she stood up on the Eiffel Tower and declared that Paris was under her and Chat Noir’s protection, she felt invincible. Something burned in her – it was not the same feeling as the soulmate connection, but it was nearly as powerful. She had fundamentally changed in this moment. She was not a bullied child anymore; she would never be again. What was Chloé Bourgeois in the face of monsters? What were monsters in the face of Ladybug and Chat Noir?

_Your partner being your soulmate just proves that you were meant for this, right?_

Marinette had not just found her soulmate, she had found her place in this world, as a protector and hero. The drive to help others was as deeply ingrained in her soul as any soulmate could be, she realized with a new clarity. The thought of giving up, so tempting before, was now unthinkable. She was meant for this. She would protect people with Chat Noir by her side, and there could be nothing else.

She now understood just what it meant to have a soulmate. Her entire life up to this point, she had never quite grasped it. And perhaps she never would’ve, without something like this happening. Soulmates weren’t just a fate-assigned, ready-made lover – they were pairs of people who would bring out the best in each other, who could push each other past what they thought their limits were.

And Marinette already knew that she couldn’t ask for anyone better than Chat Noir as a soulmate. He had done just that, awakening the best in her so that they could save the city together. And she had no doubt that somehow, she had done the same for him. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t fallen in love at first sight. Love would come later. It didn’t matter that they couldn’t have a normal soulmate relationship. Right now, Marinette wouldn’t trade this situation for the world. She felt alive, she felt on top of the world as ladybugs swirled around the city, magically restoring every trace of damage, and she and Chat Noir parted again. Nothing had ever felt more right. Nothing had ever felt better. Nothing, she knew, could possibly ruin this.

The next day, it rained.

Marinette learned how it felt to fall in love with someone else’s soulmate.

**Author's Note:**

> Thought I'd try my hand at a soulmate AU. Though it won't be for the whole month, I plan on doing at least a couple more stories set in this universe. I want them to have a happy ending, after all.


End file.
